Social media continues to grow into one of the most
influential multidimensional platforms. With each innovative development,
social media becomes a bit less social, and a bit more commercial. This
multidimensional platform offers a variety of consumer benefits, including one
of the newest trends; buy buttons. This developing new trend intertwines social
media with direct advertising and mobile commerce. Although advertising is not
new to social media, buy buttons provide consumers with the ability to purchase
a product directly, without actually having to leave their social media website
or app. Much like many other developments in social media, buy buttons meet our
economy’s evolving on-demand needs. As
more and more social media outlets begin to incorporate instant and on-demand
features such as buy buttons, we will see a whole new dimension of social advertising
that will increase mobile commerce.
In fact, the on-demand features that buy buttons provide are
beneficial to both the industry and consumer in creating a direct and
frictionless mobile commerce exchange. For the companies that have begun to
incorporate buy buttons, “their hope is that people will go from merely
browsing their platforms to buying products on them” (Luckerson). Take for
example Pinterest and Instagram, which now provide buy buttons for consumers.
For a social media app like Pinterest that was once simply used for creating a
virtual closet, or finding your dream wedding dress, consumers are now able to
buy the products they previously admired through their mobile screens. Similar
to Pinterest, Instagram was simply used for the browsing and sharing of images,
but has newly adopted targeted advertising and buy buttons that are displayed throughout
the users Instagram feed.
For the social media industry, this is a breakthrough that
provides a whole new dimension of advertising and commercial use. Social media platforms can work with
retailers to incorporate buy buttons in order to increase profits on both ends.
Of course the platforms and retailers cannot be successful without the
consumer. Since buy buttons are still in the early stages, it is difficult to
predict how the users will respond. However, there are many reasons to believe
that buy buttons will have a drastic impact on the increase of mobile commerce
because it caters to the consumers needs. The two main factors of buy buttons
that supports this theory are demonstrated through the following:
- “Uberfication” of buy buttons
- Bridging the gap between company and consumer
Not only do buy buttons posses “uberfication” qualities, but
they also bridge the gap between the consumer and the company. With the
development of social media, it created a whole new dynamic between the
consumer and the company that was much more direct and personal. Buy buttons
take this a step further and actually allow the consumer to directly buy
something through the companies Instagram or Pinterest page. In a study
commissioned by the Advertising Research Foundation, experts found that
consumers were using social media to connect with the brands and retailers,
which generally enhanced the consumers mobile shopping. Social media gives
consumers the feeling that “they are in the control of the process, equipped
with all the information they need to be the seller’s equal in the purchase
process”(3, Powers). This study supports the theory that buy buttons cater to
the consumers desire to feel in control and connected with the retailer by
providing a direct way to purchase a product.
Since buy buttons posses all of the features that consumers are looking for, it’s hard to imagine that the trend won’t be a success. The success is going to bring about a lot of changes for the social media industry. These changes are going to help increase mobile commerce and provide new forms of advertising through social media. In 2014 Nielsen found that 87 percent of consumers use their mobile phones for shopping in their Advertising & Audiences report. This number is only going to get higher once buy buttons really take off, and more social media platforms develop this new trend. With the success of buy buttons will come even more developments in social media that increase targeted advertising, mobile commerce, and that possess “uberfication” qualities.
Articles:
http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/52/4/479
http://time.com/4075560/buy-button-facebook-youtube-pinterest/
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Buy-Buttons-Next-Step-Social-Commerce/1013204
http://venturebeat.com/2015/10/04/how-uber-is-rewiring-your-customers-brain-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/
Bibliography
"Buy Buttons: The Next Step in Social Commerce -
EMarketer." Buy Buttons: The Next Step in Social Commerce -
EMarketer. E Marketer, 9 Nov. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
Luckerson, Victor. "Why 'Buy Buttons' Are Invading the
Internet." Time. Time, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
Powers, Todd, Dorothy Advincula, Manila S. Austin, Stacy
Graiko, and Jasper Snyder. "Digital and Social Media In the Purchase
Decision Process." Journal of Advertising Research JAR 52.4
(2012): 479-89.Communications & Mass Media Complete. Web. 6 Feb.
2016.
"Reports ." Advertising and
Audiences: State of the Media. Nielsen, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
Sena, Pete. "How Uber Is Rewiring Your Customer's Brain
and What You Can Do About It." Digital Surgeons Blog. Digital
Surgeons, 4 Oct. 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.
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ReplyDeleteWe live in a world of instant gratification. No time more than now have we desired services and goods so instantaneously. Buy buttons will certainly be both beneficial to advertisers and companies and dangerous to consumers. Dangerous in the meaning of being able to purchase anything instantenously.
ReplyDeleteI follow a lot of fashion bloggers on Instagram. In the past year or so LIKEtoKNOW.it has become quite the phenomenon. LIKEtoKnow.it is a software technology made specifically for Instagram. Once signed up, simply like a photo where LIKEtoKNOW.it is hashtagged or tagged and you will receive ready to shop products sent straight to your inbox. It's a great tool in that you can find where to shop looks and products that bloggers are wearing without searching the internet for them or even reading their blog. LIKEtoKNOW.it is similar to buy buttons in that it sends product information straight to your inbox for you to purchase.
As you mentioned, we want our experience in purchasing to be instant, convient and hassle free. No technology describes this better than buy buttons and I believe they will be a huge success. Perhaps the technology of buy buttons will improve the economy. I agree with Nicole in that buy buttons could potentially be dangerous in that it makes purchasing almost too easy for consumers.
Prior to reading your blog, I honestly hadn't noticed "buy buttons." I find them interesting, they are a great idea but also very dangerous for impulse buyers like myself. Like one of the articles for class had mentioned, completing checkout on a small screen is a hassle and usually the reason why I don't shop on my phone. These buy buttons will make shopping on our mobile devices a breeze. I used to buy a lot of stuff from a company called Black Milk and often their releases would have limited product, meaning they would never make them again. I would go out of my way to make sure I was home to buy these items on my computer just because I could maneuver the site faster on my laptop. With the buy button I would have been able to buy my products on my phone almost instantly. Similarly with concert tickets, they go on sale at a specific time and they could sell out in seconds, you can never rely on your phone to get to check out the quickest but maybe now we can.
ReplyDeleteThough this feature does remind me of another website, Wanelo. I think it has lost its popularity but a few years ago I used it all the time. It was a site/app where you could search anything, look a products and it would give you the link to purchase it right there. I agree that this will be successful based on the popularity of Wanelo a few years ago.
I never thought of Uber as a buy button, I just thought of it as a convenience. Uber makes traveling 1000 times easier so I can only imagine how easy it will be to buy my favorite things on the go. I think this will definitely change how we shop using our smartphones and this will just increase peoples purchase patterns in general because it'll be so easy.
Your blog includes good statistics, the stats you included about browsing on your phone but not actually buying was interesting because I do that all the time. Sometimes I'd even send the links to my laptop for later but often it's just forgotten about and I don't actually buy the items. Buy buttons will eliminate people that don't ever hit the purchase button, it will be so quick and easy, you won't even think about the money you're spending.
I can't imagine these buy buttons not being successful. We live in a society where social media is almost everywhere and by having buy buttons on social media practically everyone will be exposed.
Halzack, Sarah. "Why the Social Media ‘buy Button’ Is Still There, Even Though Most Never Use It." Washington Post. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.
Zach Caldicott
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the Buy Button but I think it’s a great feature for the time coming. There are various media outlets that people spend their time on every day and products are constantly thrown into their faces. This makes buying products easier than ever and people will respond well to this. I learned in a previous MSS class that advertisers are able to track users searching habits and post products on websites like Facebook and Twitter. The Buy Button is perfect for this because it brings popular media outlets and online shopping together.
You mentioned in your post that Nielson reported that 87% of people use their phones for online shopping. I think this feature will be especially big for college students because of how often they’re on their phones. I fall into that demographic and I will definitely be using this feature whenever it’s necessary. This is bound for success and I would be surprised if it wasn’t. This makes online shopping so easy and convenient. I look forward to using this feature in the future and im interested in seeing the growth that I expect to see.
I think you said it best when you wrote that social media has become less social and more commercial. Today, we see more and more people using social media for things that we would normally go out and do ourselves such as online shopping. With the buy buttons, advertisers can easily reach their target markets from essentially anywhere. In today’s society, more and more people are becoming hooked on convenience and getting things faster with less hassle. I think we see less and less people going into stores, interacting with people, and making their purchases. Personally, before I came to college, I never online shopped. Now, however, I rarely go to the mall and rather complete most of my purchases online.
ReplyDeleteI think the buy buttons can certainly add to society’s desires of convenience. Popular social media sites, such as Facebook, have tried testing out the buy button to make it easier for shoppers. This popular, international social media site is “continuing to test a ‘Buy’ button on News Feed posts that lets people purchase items without leaving the platform” (Luckerson). This certainly adds to the element of convenience when people are simply scrolling through their News Feeds, which, I’m sure most people do multiple times a day. As you mentioned, this can definitely bridge the gap between the company of the buy button and the consumer. If these buy buttons are posted on popular and frequently used social media sites, products are going to be shown to consumers much more often. This will then increase the possibility of greater revenue for a company and their products.
While buy buttons are certainly a way for the company to reach a consumer and for the consumer to easily purchase items, it still is a relatively new concept and one I hadn’t even heard of until I read the articles for this class. In the article found in The Washington Post, it claims that while buy buttons can be effective, a lot of people don’t really know that much about them. Because of this, “some of the challenge to adoption right now is a lack of knowledge… analysts say that there’s only a limited selection of items right now available for purchases via buy buttons, which may be a reason they haven’t exactly taken off yet” (Halzack). When I’m online shopping, I immediately go to the store or retailer’s website rather than click on an ad or buy button. This might just be because of habit but it might also be because I didn’t really know much about buy buttons about know. I think if more people become aware of this, it can certainly help retailers sell their products to more and more people.
Works Cited:
Halzack, Sarah. "Why the Social Media 'buy Button' Is Still There, Even Though Most Never Use It." The Washington Post. 14 Jan. 2016. Web.
Luckerson, Victor. "Why 'Buy Buttons' Are Invading the Internet." Time. Time, 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
I think success of the buy button is inevitable. The emphasis on social media and advertising is booming. “Retailers have been embracing social shopping because they simply want to get in front of shoppers in the channels those customers already frequent” (Halzack). This strategy is smart, but only for certain platforms.
ReplyDeleteInstagram has begun this trend and I think if continued and done strategically, then the buy button can be successful. Pinterest on the other hand, doesn’t need any help. Pinterest and the buy-button go together like peanut butter and jelly. The platform is meant to create virtual inspiration boards of outfits, wedding details, dream home furnishings and much more. With the introduction of the buy button, these once dreamed items could become a reality.
As an avid Pinterest user, the amount of buttons and links that are highlighted in posts now are numerous. When Pinterest first became popular you “pinned” things or saved them to look back on for inspiration. You would search the web or go to the store to recreate things on your own. But the new buy button has changed the game completely. Creating a simple one-step portal to purchase an exact look on Pinterest has converted the platform to a more commercialized outlet.
Above states my passion, love, and positive outlook for the buy button on Pinterest. Over the course of this year I will stick with opinion in my opening statement that this new trend will only succeed if the platform is congruent with the idea. Buy buttons will not survive apps that do not have a reason for it, as perfectly stated in one of the class reading; “because people go to social sites to keep up with friends, they probably will not be in the mindset to, say, snap up a new pair of jeans in between commenting on their friend’s vacation photos” (Halzack). The platforms that take to buy buttons should only incorporate them if the platform is familiar with promoting buyable items. It does not make sense to add advertisements with buy buttons to social media apps that are meant for personal photo-sharing, news stories, and pointless updates about what you are doing every second (yes, I’m talking about Twitter).
My thought is that buy buttons will be most successful when combined not only with the right platforms, but also with the combination of targeted ads. Pinterest already has their system down to a tee but filling a users main feed with “related pins.” With the addition of buy buttons, their once look-book type of outlet will soon transform into a commercialized dream store. For others, using data from Nielsen and Axicom, which collect your online footsteps, can present buy buttons for content that are tailored to the user. This is a typical way of advertising, but the key is platform congruence. This combination presents the most easy and frictionless opportunity for consumers to purchase a product. If buy buttons are available on ads that are calculated to a users’ “apparent interests,” then advertisers are doing all they can possible do to convert browsing into purchasing (Tynan).
References:
Halzack, Sarah. "Why the social media ‘buy button’ is still there, even though most never use it." Washington Post. 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
Tynan, Dan. "Explained - Here's How Advertising Tracks You Across the Web." Yahoo Tech. 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
Taylor Hoblitzell
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that you say social media is becoming less social and more commercial. I have absolutely noticed this since I first created my social media accounts. Ad’s on YouTube have advanced in the past years. If you are watching a popular video, there is always almost an ad. Sometimes, you can click “Skip Ad” in 5 seconds or you have to wait the entire 30 seconds for your video to play. Instagram now has sponsored posts on your feed. I was so confused when I first realized sponsored ads for Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and other companies, which I didn’t follow, were coming up on my feed. The cookies on Google and Facebook have always made me uneasy. Cookies always know to advertise on your Facebook feed those shoes that you put in your shopping cart, but never actually purchased online. The more advertisements advance, the more I dislike them. Even though advertisers are specifically trying to get our attention, I try very hard to get around the ads. Over the years I’ve found myself tuning out advertisements more than ever. I ignore them, I walk away when they are on TV or I change the station when I hear them on the radio. I have never heard of a buy button until this post, actually. Pinterest’s head of commerce, Michael Yamartino says “ Awareness is a big part of it. This is a new thing… most people haven’t bought from a platform that’s not a retailer.” (Halzack). I agree with Yamartino, I am actually shocked that I did not know what a buy button was. The buy button is trying to change social media into a online shopping community.
Neilson takes a look at this button that is not well received. They say, “With consumers being bombarded with messages, the path to purchase isn’t a straight line anymore”, I agree. I find myself especially dodging these ads, making the line to purchase even more crooked. I think that I am a type of consumer that advertisers don’t necessarily reach in the way that they may reach others.
I was interested to read “Five Social Trends Marketers Won’t Be Able to Ignore in 2016”, and that the buy button was not included. One trend I noticed is that ads will now be targeting social media now more than ever. (Pineiro). I am wondering if this trend will aid the buy button to really take off, or if it will officially kill its chances at succeeding due to crowding social media for users.
Sources:
1. Halzack, Sarah. "Why the Social Media ‘buy Button’ Is Still There, Even Though Most Never Use It." The Washington Post 14 Jan. 2016: n. pag. Print.
2. Pineiro, Victor. "Five Social Trends Marketers Won't Be Able to Ignore in 2016." Ad Age. N.p., 16 Dec. 2015. Web.
3. "Reports ." Advertising and Audiences: State of the Media. Nielsen, n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.